Corruption inside BJP-ruled Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) burst into the open during a Standing Committee meeting when BJP councillor Pankaj Luthra accused South Shahdara Zone Deputy Commissioner of extorting money from an under-construction building. The DC hit back, alleging pressure from the councillor, while the MCD Commissioner went further, calling BJP councillors blackmailers.The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi Unit President Saurabh Bharadwaj said this exposes the deep nexus of BJP officials and builders running illegal construction rackets. He demanded BJP clarify whether its councillors are blackmailers or DC Badal Kumar is corrupt, while confirming that AAP has already written to CVC and CBI demanding a full probe.Addressing a press conference, AAP Delhi Unit President Saurabh Bharadwaj pointed to the explosive developments in the MCD Standing Committee, stating, “On Wednesday, during the Standing Committee meeting of MCD, shocking revelations raised big questions for the BJP. The meeting was attended by MCD Commissioner Ashwini Kumar, Deputy Commissioners of various zones, all Standing Committee members, and the Chairperson.”He continued, “In that meeting, BJP’s Shahdara South Zone Standing Committee member and councillor Pankaj Luthra said that a construction project in his area had an approved map, yet the MCD’s Junior Engineer was demanding money. When he questioned the Junior Engineer, he replied that this demand came from Shahdara South Zone Deputy Commissioner Badal Kumar. This is a grave charge—a BJP councillor, in front of the Commissioner himself, accused his own Deputy Commissioner of extorting money from illegal constructions.”Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “In a normal situation, one would expect Commissioner Ashwini Kumar to order an inquiry and assure action against the guilty. But that did not happen. Instead, Deputy Commissioner Badal Kumar stood up and said that BJP councillor Pankaj Luthra himself had invested money in the building and was pressuring him.”He added, “Not just this, Commissioner Ashwini Kumar, while pointing towards BJP councillors, repeatedly said that all of them are blackmailing. BJP councillors were called ‘blackmailers’, and the Commissioner labelled elected representatives again and again as blackmailers.”Saurabh Bharadwaj asserted, “The BJP’s councillors should drown in shame. In their own Standing Committee, their Commissioner openly called them blackmailers, yet not a single councillor had the courage to stand up and say, ‘What nonsense are you speaking’? AAP Leader of Opposition (LoP) in MCD Ankush Narang also told AAP councillors today that if they are calling BJP councillors blackmailers, then tomorrow they will call AAP councillors blackmailers too. This is about the dignity of public representatives. How can any Commissioner generalise and call elected representatives blackmailers?”Pointing to Thursday’s developments, Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “Ankush Narang raised this issue in the MCD. But it is a matter of great shame that MCD Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh did not even allow him to speak. Barely 10 seconds after he started, his mic was switched off and the House was adjourned. The House ran for barely 5–7 minutes. The Mayor too wants to save this Deputy Commissioner, because he does not want the truth to come out.””I want to ask Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva—either Deputy Commissioner Badal Kumar is collecting money from building mafias and the Building Department, or your councillors are blackmailers, which you have accepted. Both cannot be true together. If your councillors are not blackmailers, then act against the DC immediately. But Virendra Sachdeva is not taking action; he is instead hiding. Does this mean he has accepted that BJP councillors are blackmailers? It is a shame for all BJP councillors that they roam around silently with this label of blackmailers and yet do not raise their voice against it,” asserted the AAP Delhi Unit President.He added, “AAP’s Leader of Opposition in MCD and AAP Standing Committee members have written to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). AAP has demanded a probe into this grave allegation that Deputy Commissioner Badal Kumar is collecting money from the Building Department.”*Even after his term ended, Badal Kumar is still on the post of Deputy Commissioner: Saurabh Bhardwaj*Highlighting Badal Kumar’s tenure, Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “Badal Kumar is neither an IAS officer nor from the MCD cadre. He had come on deputation from the Indian Statistical Service (ISS) for a period of three years. His deputation and its extension both ended in July 2024. In December 2024, the MCD House had passed a resolution stating that Badal Kumar’s deputation had ended and that this person repeatedly misbehaves. Councillors have filed numerous complaints of his misconduct. He has been transferred multiple times. The resolution demanded that he be sent back to his parent cadre.”He further said, “Despite this, what compulsion does the Commissioner have that he continues to shield Badal Kumar and keeps him in position while ignoring the House resolution? His current tenure is entirely unauthorised and illegal. And despite this unauthorised and illegal tenure, BJP councillors themselves are alleging that he is collecting money from the Building Department.”Saurabh Bharadwaj concluded, “Virendra Sachdeva must answer—are his councillors blackmailers or is his Deputy Commissioner Badal Kumar corrupt? He must make one of the two clear.”
